STATE BUILDING

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22917, 21 December 1937, Page 14

STATE BUILDING

FIRST TENDER ACCEPTED CONTRACT OF £53,000 SHORTLAND STREET BLOCK FOUNDATIONS AND FRAME The first tender for the construction of the new eight-storeyed Government building on the site of the old Shortland Street post office has been let to the Fletcher Construction Company, Limited, and work is to be begun as promptly as possible after the holidays. The tender, the amount of which is £52,854, is for the foundations and the steel work of the building.. The further tenders for the superstructure, which will include concreting, stone facing, plastering and the whole of the interior finishing, will probably involve an even larger undertaking than is represented by this contract. It is expected that the later tenders will not be called for until late next year. In 1935 the total cost of the proposed building was estimated at £IOO,OOO.

Baft Foundation The area on which the building is to be erected will have a frontage of 61 feet on Shortland Street, 58 feet on Fort Street and 137 feet on Jean Batten Place. The fourth wall will be hard up against the Victoria Arcade. On account of the softness of the ground, which is on old sea beach, it will be necessary to carry the building on , a raft composed of reinforced concrete and steel. This raft will be approximately sft. 6in. in thickness.

With a view to reducing the noise during construction, the steel frame work is to be electrically welded together instead of being riveted, and the building will be the first steel-framed one in Auckland to be made by this process. It is estimated that a total of 748 tons of structural steel, 174 tons of reinforcing steel and 2000 yards of concrete foundations will be used in the job. There may be some difficulty in obtaining this steel as promptly as it is required from abroad in view of the great demands on steel at present for rearmament, but it is not expected that the delay will be at all serious. The contracting firm hopes to have the first of the required steel here in three months. A 40-loot Excavation About thirty men will be required as soon as the work is begun. The most modern methods are to be used for excavation, which will probably be taken only to a depth of 10 feet at first. When all the plant and material become available, the work will be carried on to a depth of 40 feet, and steel sheet piling will be driven. The present contract requires the whole of the specified work to be completed within 12 months. The foundation work will involve the under-pinning of adjacent buildings. The ground floor of the new building will house the post office, with its entrance in Jean Batten Place, and offices for other State departments with separate entrances in Fort and Shortland Streets. Entrances, provided with lifts and stairs, from Shortland and Fort Streets, will give access to the upper floors, which are to be equipped with modern facilities. In pursuance of the Government's policy,* New Zealand materials and manufactures are to be used wherever possible.